He was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1771, and became a fellow commoner at
Peterhouse, Cambridge, in 1773. He was there for at least 3 years, but did
not graduate. He practiced as an attorney in Cockermouth and London where he
had offices in several inns of court as well as in the Pall Mall. In
Cockermouth, he had very grand premises, the palisaded double-fronted
building once (and now) known as the "Swan Inn" on Market Place. (Christian:
Fragile Paradise).